Where to work with a PhD?
Although the PhD is often seen as a professional training for academia, in the UK, Asia, Africa and the US, only less than half of PhDs are used to work in academia. The rest of graduates find employment in the professions, business and management, public or private sector and more. Human Resources recruiters look for highly qualified staff. Think about the types of organizations you might work for: from large multinational corporations, NGOs, charities, local and national government, regulatory bodies/agencies and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 250 employees).
The vast majority of companies are SMEs and offer excellent opportunities for career progression. Each employment field has specific characteristics; however, they are increasingly overlapping due to economic, technological and political changes. Although several sectors exist, private sectors have shown greater attractiveness for PhD holders. Using a PhD in the private sector allows more flexibility than the public one, more sector-based. PhD holders are proactive and able to work autonomously, as they demonstrated in the implementation of their thesis; therefore, in SMEs they are seen as people capable of achieving goals and finding solutions, which is why they cover positions of responsibility and management roles.
